Where Do You Spend Your Marketing Dollar?

What you’ve heard is true: you have to spend money to make money. Yes, you can get your freelance writing business started without really putting up much cash. You can do like I did, and start writing for a friend, or you can hire on to one of the larger content creation shops like Demand Studios. Both are viable, free ways to get into the freelance writing business.

However, if you want to grow your business and move into new and different types of opportunities, you need to spend some cash. Specifically, you need to spend some money on marketing. But, where do you spend it so as to get the most bang for your buck?

Here area few places you can drop some coin that will, ultimately, increase your freelance writing business income:

1. Get some business cards. I won’t go into all the merits here (click the link if you need convincing) but I will say that a business card with a quality design can bring you both attention and new business.

2. Put up a website. A website gives you a way to display your writing portfolio online, and you can direct folks to it via social media, your email tagline or even your business card. You can get web hosting for a few bucks a month. You can put up a blog on your site if you want to try to create attention or if you’re trying to break into the blog writing market, too.

3. Hire a professional designer for your website. You might have a good eye for design, but your website will look amateurish unless you hire a real professional. If you can’t afford a designer yet, do the best you can, but this should be a priority.

4. Join a freelance marketplace. Elance and Guru both come to mind. Both offer very limited “free” memberships, but putting a little bit of money into an actual membership can really pay off.

5. Educate yourself. I’ve been talking a lot about Seth Godin and Zig Ziglar lately, I know. Don’t worry, I go through phases with these sorts of things. The point is, learn what you can from marketing and sales experts, as well as from other freelance experts.

Getting Paid for your Freelance Writing

I think we can all agree that we’re not in the freelance writing business for purely noble purposes. The fact of the matter is you want to make money with your writing. In fact, you should make money with your writing. It’s what puts food on the table, clothes on your back and a roof over your head.

One of the essential parts to being successful in a freelance writing business (or any small business) is getting paid. With most of your clients, that’s not a problem. The vast majority of clients I’ve worked with pay, and they pay fast.

Still, it happens. Sometimes, you don’t get paid. A client goes under, or just disappears. You’re stuck, sometimes with days or weeks worth of work completed, with no dough to show for it.

So, how do you get your clients to fork over the cash? Here are a few tips that should increase your successful collection rates:

• Understand that not all clients are created equal. You need to focus on high-risk clients in your payment and collection processes.
• Use a contract. If you don’t have a standard freelance writing contract, you should. The contract will set your terms for payment, and is your best legal recourse if the client should refuse to pay.
• Recognize that small businesses sometimes just fail. Less than half of all small businesses make it to five years. Less than a third make it to ten years.
• If you’re doing a sizable project, consider getting a business credit report. The Dunn & Bradstreet report is pretty standard, and will run you around $60 for the basic report. If the client doesn’t have a business credit report (pretty common for small businesses) ask for upfront payment.
• Consider offering a discount for upfront payment.
• Use an escrow service for high-risk clients who aren’t willing to pay up front.
• Watch out for signs of trouble. If you can’t get ahold of a client during a project, flags should go up. Radio silence often indicates business trouble. (On the other hand, it could just mean your client has gone camping for the weekend without her cell phone. Don’t make too many assumptions here.)
• Create a watch list for clients that pay slow. Take quicker action with them. Call them within a couple days of invoicing.
• Follow the law. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act sets limits on what you can do in the process of trying to collect money owed to you. Find out what those rules are and follow them.
• Consider a collection agency. If you’re frequently hitting the no-pay wall, hire someone to handle these accounts for you.

Are You Scared of Spending Money?

Do you hang onto your money? That can be good – and bad, especially for your freelance writing success.

The saying goes that you have to spend a dollar to make a dollar. That’s doubly true when it comes to business, and your business is freelance writing. Basically, if you want to do better than you are now, you need to let go a little of what you have.
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Preparing Yourself for Better Writing Rates

Once you’ve decided to establish rates for writing that compensate you fairly for your time and effort, you need to start standing up for yourself and putting your foot down.

That’s not easy. Many freelancers hold themselves back from setting better rates because they’re afraid of what people will say. But remember, fear holds us back from getting us what we want in life.

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Taking Baby Steps for a Better Pay Rate for Writing

Many writers struggle with the decision of pay rate. What is a good pay rate for a writer? What amount is my work worth? What can I get paid for my writing? What are others getting paid? How do I compare? What rates for writing should I set?

Oy. That’s a bunch of questions and they can be stressful ones to answer, creating a situation of doubt, worry and a dip in confidence.

I say, forget that. Instead of deciding your own pay rate, let your clients decide for you. How? Using baby steps and the ‘no’ point.

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Figuring Out A Good Pay Rate for Writing

by James Chartrand

This is the third post in a series on increasing your rates and getting more money writing for a living. We’ve already discussed when you shouldn’t ask for a raise and how to find the confidence to ask for a raise. Today’s post covers figuring out what you should be paid for your work in the first place.

Feel free to ask your questions in the comment section, and we may cover the answer in an upcoming post.

The pay rate of writers is a hot topic. With the wide range of pay rates for various types of writing, no one can really figure out what they should be charging or what they should be paid for their words.

Sure, we can all cry for industry standards and level out the playing field so that both clients and writers know what the going rate should be. It’s not going to happen anytime soon, unfortunately.

There are way too many factors involve in different types of writing for people to set a standard rate. Both print and web content pay rates vary according to readership, subscription numbers, types of articles, the amount of research… the list goes on. Read more

How to Find the Confidence to Ask for a Raise

by James Chartrand
This is the second post in a series on increasing your rates and getting more money writing for a living. Feel free to ask your questions in the comment section, and we may cover the answer in an upcoming post.

Last week we discussed circumstances
when you shouldn’t ask for a raise, but there are definitely times when you should seek out that pay hike to better compensate yourself for a job well done.

The problem is that many people feel very uncomfortable discussing the subject of pay increases and money with their clients. Most writers don’t enjoy the game of negotiations, and they end up never asking for anything at all. They get stuck in a rut and stay there for a long, long time.

Why, though? What makes people stop themselves for asking for more money, especially when the situation proves a pay hike is deserved?

Fear: The Ultimate Killer

From childhood on up until the day we pass on, fears rule our lives. We learn to avoid unpleasant situations. Events shape how we perceive the world. We develop all sorts of inner whisperings that control how we behave and act.

Fears take on many forms: fear of embarrassment, fear of change, fear of condescension, fear that we just don’t deserve something. We talk ourselves out of all kinds of good things because we’re damned scared of what someone else might say, think or do.

Fears hold us back from what we want. Fears keep us from having a better life.

The Steps to Finding Confidence

If you never ask for anything, you’ll never receive anything. Writers need to learn how to ask for what they want, and it all comes down to having the confidence to pose the right questions.

Finding the confidence to ask for what we want when we’re scared isn’t so hard. All that needs to be done is examine the potential consequences and sifting reality from our negative perceptions. Read more

Why You Shouldn’t Ask for a Raise

by James Chartrand

This is the first post in a series on increasing your rates and how to get more money writing for a living. Feel free to ask your questions in the comment section, and we may cover the answer in an upcoming post.

We all want more in life. More freedom, more fun, more money… It’s perfectly fine to want these advancements and a better life, and it’s perfectly acceptable to ask for these “mores” from others.

We could ask a partner for help to lessen our workload. We could find a friend and ask if that person wants to join some activity. We could ask clients for a wage increase on the work we do. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, after all.

But I believe there are times when you shouldn’t ask for more – especially when it comes to money.

Accepting a pay rate for any gig creates a standard of expectation for value delivered. If you provide a particular level of quality and a certain set of services for a determined dollar amount, then that’s it. That’s what you do, and that’s what you deliver, and that’s what you get paid for it. You agreed to it, after all.

Let’s say that in a year’s time, you’re still doing the exact same thing for the exact same pay rate. Should you ask for a raise? I don’t think so.

Remember the movie Flatliners from 1990? I do. The green line on the medical monitor’s screen was completely flat, the hum a dull monotone. The group of med students stood there watching nothing happen.

That’s the case with pay raises: They flatline. Unless something happens to change the situation, unless someone grabs initiative and puts life into the issue, the green line drones on without a blip. Read more